Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 3 Oct 2001

Vol. 541 No. 2

Written Answers. - Beef Exports.

John McGuinness

Ceist:

315 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will outline Government policy regarding the marketing of Irish beef within the EU and worldwide; the body which is responsible for implementing this policy or strategy; the professional marketing skills which have been employed to ensure its success; and the initiatives which have been taken in recent months to add value to the product, restore consumer confidence and gain shelf space in the supermarkets of the EU and other world markets. [21688/01]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Mr. Walsh):

It is Government policy to ensure that all possible markets for beef are open to Irish exporters. This was the situation pertaining prior to the BSE crisis in Europe late last year when Irish beef producers were exporting their product to more than 60 countries worldwide. Arising from the market difficulties in Europe last year, every effort at political, diplomatic and technical level is being made to ensure the earliest possible re-opening of these important markets.

An Bord Bia is the body charged with promoting the sale of Irish beef and other food products worldwide and underpinning the marketing endeavours of our food companies. That body works in partnership with my Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs through our embassies abroad and with the beef industry to develop and maintain markets. An important plank in Bord Bia's strategy is to develop long-term relationships between Irish exporters and overseas buyers through participation at international food fairs and co-ordination of inward market intelligence visits. Promotional programmes are also developed to support marketing activities which offer a range of solutions to provide distinctiveness and competitive edge to Irish products through advertising, media relations and point of sale material and other tools. Bord Bia is equipped with the appropriate expertise to carry out these functions.

As recently as this week, Bord Bia organised and ran a very successful seminar in Dublin entitled Building Confidence in Beef which was targeted at those concerned with taking the key decisions in the purchasing and marketing of beef in the European marketplace.

Marketing of beef is also very much concerned with providing the necessary guarantees in relation to the safety of the product. In this context, BSE has been the dominant issue in recent years. In that regard, my Department has a vital role to play in ensuring that that all necessary BSE controls are in place and effectively implemented. Irish BSE controls are among the strictest in the world and the quality of those controls has been recognised by the European Union's Scientific Steering Committee, which has classified Ireland's BSE situation as "optimally stable" since 1998. These rigorous control measures mean that consumers are afforded the maximum possible guarantees about the safety of Irish beef.